FIFA 19 Beta Review: 8 Hands-On Impressions You Need To Know

3. The Realism Will Impress And Annoy In Equal Measure

Yet again FIFA is visually stunning; from the sweat glistening on a player's brow to the awe-inspiring sights as your players trot out in one of the games many infamous stadiums, but in terms of realistic gameplay it ranges from pleasantly surprising improvements to controller-breaking frustration.

AI when both attacking and defending is much better, whereas before I'd be yelling at players to provide support or overlapping runs when going forward, as long as you've set the right tactics you'll be far more of an attacking unit with players giving you options to break opponents down. Defensively, they're far more proactive, stick with who they're marking, and are there to cut out misplaced passes far more effectively than in previous versions of the game.

On the downside, how realistic the game is when it comes to first touches and accuracy of passing will be a real source of initial annoyance. In fairness, it's good that FIFA 19 reflects the varying levels of ability but with the introduction of the 'Active Touch System' and the aforementioned passing system, things you took for granted and assumed you already had mastered will take some getting used to.

Speaking of which...